The 52-year-old Peltier started his newspaper career in Florida at The Ledger in Lakeland in 1988. He’s also worked as a stringer for The Associated Press, Reuters and Time magazine. He has been with the News of Service of Florida the last four years, specializing in coverage of the insurance industry.

A native of Litchfield, Minn., Peltier earned a journalism degree from the University of Minnesota.

Peltier begins his new job at Citizens on Feb. 25 at a starting salary of $82,500.